Phylacterium Desiderio
by Fonzleclay
Summary: Set between Seasons 4&5 of the TV series, Buffy finds out that a valuable and powerful object was stolen from Spike by a reformed Vampire cult. Bit of OC in this one, but it's within the context of the series.
1. Chapter 1

Such a day had not happened in Sunnydale for a long time. The best case scenario usually was that the weather was nice and warm throughout the day, the atmosphere was cheerful and the people were friendly, but by night, everything would take a turn for the worst. If the Vampires weren't out in force, then there would be some ancient being trying to bring forth an archaic demon, and sometimes there would even just be careless students experimenting with magic. In any case, tonight, there was nothing; nothing but peace that still lingered from the bright light of day and heat that was still baking from underneath the feet of those who had truly indulged in climatic beauty.

The question that was on everyone's mind was: what's the catch? This was Sunnydale, and there were no ghouls haunting the night or beasts from below causing chaos. Buffy felt as if she wasn't getting her jobs worth. She was, however, grateful that she was allowed some time to herself after the last few months.

The last villain that she had faced was more than Buffy alone could handle. It was not an ancient demon, or anything that was recorded in any of Giles' books, but a man-made killing machine. Adam, part man, part demon and part machine, was created by a government institution called The Initiative, instigated by Dr. Maggie Walsh. It took primeval power, together with the combined entity of Buffy, Giles, Willow and Xander to shut Adam down, and they were all very much ready for a well deserved break.

What Buffy couldn't fathom was the boredom. There was only so much sitting around being carefree that she could take before she felt her fingers begin to tingle. Maybe it was the sheer power she felt whilst on patrol, or maybe it was the fact that it had been too long since she'd been without something to kill. Either way, she was bored. She put on her coat and boots and grabbed her weapons. There must be something out there that's in need of a good stake, she thought to herself.

She made her way excitedly across the landing, passing the spare bedroom on her way. Her mother, Joyce, was in there making the bed. Buffy was stood in the doorway for a good few seconds before Joyce noticed her.

"Oh, hey honey" Joyce said, when she finally noticed. "Someone staying over tonight?" Buffy asked, as Joyce started fluffing up the pillows. "Oh no" Joyce replied "I just thought that this place looked a little un-tidy. It needed a mothers touch."

She walked over to Buffy, looked down and noticed the bag full of weapons in Buffy's hand. "Going on patrol? At this hour?" she asked. "Yeah" Buffy replied "I mean there's bound to be something hairy out there. Plus, the forces of darkness don't really take shifts so I've gotta be on watch pretty much 24/7". This may not have been strictly true, but she had to say something to keep Joyce from worrying. It had been two years since Buffy had broken the news to her and still, to Joyce, none of it felt real.

"You know, I think it's about time you started working shifts" Joyce said "You've been working so hard over the summer I think you deserve some time off". Buffy knew that her mum was just trying to help, but it was time off that had been troubling her, she'd had too much of it.

"Well, you know me" Buffy added "I don't worry too much about getting worked up. I'm self-employed remember? Watcher-less. I work my own hours." Good answer, she thought to herself. There was no lie in that, and she was, despite everything, happy to be working at such a pace. There was just something tonight that really gave Buffy the urge to slay, which in her eyes, was a good trait for a slayer.

"Just as long as you're careful" said Joyce, Buffy was getting tired of people telling her that, of course she would be careful, she'd already died once, and it wasn't something she felt like doing again. "I will be" she replied, making her way down the stairs and out the front door. She quietly closed the front door behind her, and stepped out onto the cobbled street.

Buffy looked along Rovello drive in complete awe. Sunnydale definitely had its faults, Buffy knew that. But that aside, to look upon such a beautiful part of the town on a summer's night, with the sky a pale black colour and the tropical trees standing completely still, knowing that this was the place she would spend much of her adult life, was an inspiring moment for Buffy. It was one of the things in her life that truly kept her going.

She strolled down the street completely casually, as she tried to decide where to start her patrol. Going straight to the cemetery would be too easy, that was what she did every night, and she wasn't expecting to find anything there. With that in mind, she made her way to the Bronze. The Bronze was just like any other club, in that there was always some man luring an innocent woman into his nest, and then turning into a monster as soon as they leave the club. Only, in Sunnydale, this was literally true. She'd seen plenty of action there before, so there was bound to be something going on. And on the plus side, even if everything was safe, The Bronze was always fun, usually more so when she had friends with her, but still, she could always wait it out inside until something sinister happened.

The Bronze seemed like her best option, so she went for it. She began the first part of her short walk in little expectancy. Although she was desperately holding out for an emergency job to arise she couldn't convince herself, no matter how hard she tried, that tonight was the night for patrolling. Still, the walk would do her good, she figured. She had not left the house all day, and so a walk in the fresh air was needed regardless.

Every step brought more anticipation. Every noise she heard made her turn around fast in expectation, almost like a jump. And yet, it seemed every noise she heard was as mundane as the last. Town's people walking dogs, High school children being loud and obnoxious, Families settling down in front of the Television, nothing that required her saving expertise, Buffy was beginning to think maybe she should give up.

As she approached Second Street, something made Buffy stop in her tracks. She heard what sounded like a disturbance coming from behind a hedge. At first it just sounded like teenagers getting rough, which was better than nothing she thought, but she listened harder and realised that whoever was fighting behind this hedge, they weren't even human, let alone teenagers.

"Where is it? Where is it?" Buffy heard someone shout, followed by a growl. Either these guys had some serious bipolar issues, or they really were demons. Finally, a mission, Buffy was more excited about this than she should've been. She grabbed the hedge as gently as she could as to not make a sound. She took a firm grip and flipped herself over with as much power as possible, making sure she landed on her feet on the other side. She hit the ground with brute force, and launched herself straight into a run. She hurtled towards the un-known fiends, who had now drifted to the other side of the street.

As she approached closer and closer, the realization gradually started to kick in. One of these demons had a familiar face, a little too familiar. They were vampires, for sure, but only one of them was worth killing, as Buffy was soon to realize. Buffy stopped about fifteen yards from where they were fighting, she stared in complete disbelief.

The first vampire stood beaten, bruised and bleeding, with the second grabbing him by the scruff of his neck, holding on with a firm grip. The first was short with dark brown, blood-stained hair. He was in clear discomfort, and struggled to formulate coherent words as the second vampire had him dangling in the air.

"I wouldn't tell you, even if I knew where it was" said the first vampire. "The boss took it, hid it somewhere." The second vampire threw him to the ground, picked him up by his shirt and pulled him closer. "Where?" asked the second vampire. He looked more threatening than the other. He stood tall with bleach-blonde hair that had been slicked back. He wore a deep black leather jacket and tall boots. He threw the other vampire back down to the ground, broke off a tree branch and held it close to the first vampire's heart.

"Tell me!" he shouted "Tell me who 'the boss' is!" He was completely oblivious to the fact that Buffy was standing there watching from a few yards away. Buffy decided, at this point, to intervene. She walked up to the fight slowly, and calmly, knowing that the second vampire could do her no harm whatsoever.

"I should've known it was you, Spike" she said, making him turn around. Spike; that was the name of the second vampire, he had been nothing but a plague on Buffy and all of her friends for the past three years. Spike looked disappointingly at Buffy for a few seconds. "Slayer" he said, expressing his annoyance. The first vampire lay bleeding on the ground, out of breath, as Spike got up and walked over to Buffy. "I suppose you're here to help?" Spike asked, sarcastically. "Actually, I'm here to kill" said Buffy "And it's a first come, first serve basis, so I advise you to get in line now if you wanna be first." Buffy could see that Spike was getting aggravated. "Save it Buffy" said Spike "I could really use your help you know." Buffy was usually reluctant to help Spike, but for whatever reason, whenever Spike needed help, it always worked out in his favour.

"Looks like your doing fine to me." Buffy said "I'll leave you boys to settle this yourselves, and if end up killing each other, even better." While Buffy and Spike were talking, the first vampire regained his strength, and slowly got back up off the ground. At first he staggered, but he gradually found enough energy to lunge at Buffy. Buffy reacted quickly and dodged his lunge, swiftly grabbing his arm and twisting it backwards. "But then again, if you can't play nicely, then I'm gonna have to step in" Buffy said, hurling the vampire to the ground by flipping him over his arm.

The vampire jumped back to his feet and edged slowly towards Buffy. "You know, most people would be concerned that someone they haven't even met wants to kill them, even though they've done nothing wrong" Buffy said, as she and the vampire began to engage in hand-to-hand combat. "Me? I find it flattering!" Buffy continued, as she kicked the vampire backwards and pushed her stake into his heart. His expression turned to one of fear and hate, as he slowly began to fade into nothing. His entire corporeal state suddenly vanished and the dust that was left behind blew in the wind.

"Well that's just great!" shouted Spike "He was about to crack!" Buffy didn't care at all, one vampire was dead, and one annoying vampire was still standing. "You're welcome" she said, getting up off the ground. She put her Stake back into her bag and turned her back to Spike. She began to walk away when Spike shouted back at her.

"I nearly had him you know. Would've made him talk if you hadn't have gone all poofy on him!" Buffy never knew whether she was being helpful to Spike or not, clearly she had done something wrong, though she cared very little.

"I don't care for your schoolboy fights Spike" said Buffy. "Schoolboy fights?" asked Spike "That little bugger robbed me! Or at least I thought he did, turns out that whatever nancy he's working for has got what he took, and now thanks to you, I'll never know who that is!"

Although Buffy wasn't in the mood for a squabble with Spike, she was intrigued to know what he'd been robbed of. After all, he had tried many a time to gain power through objects that he himself had stolen. He may not have been able to do any harm himself, but he could certainly do it through someone _or_ something else. Buffy was suddenly concerned, but didn't want to make it obvious to Spike.

"Whatever he took from you Spike, I'm sure you can replace it" she suggested, hoping to trigger a reaction from Spike. "Oh yeah" said Spike "It was just your everyday teapot that cost me a couple of quid!" the sarcasm in Spike's voice suggested that whatever it was, it was powerful. "It wasn't cheap Buffy!" he continued to say "And it wasn't easy to get, I had to speak to a Hässlich demon, that wasn't pleasant I can tell you". A Hässlich demon? That could've been a clue; Buffy was almost beginning to regret killing Spike's friend by this point. She didn't want to leave without getting some kind of information from him. So far all she had to go on was 'Hässlich demon'. It was enough for now, she figured. She wasn't going to get any more out of Spike that was for sure.

"Look, I don't have time for this" she said, as she tried once again to walk away "I got what I wanted and now I'm going home." Spike shouted back at her from a distance "Well, what about me? What do I want?"

As much as Buffy would have liked to have heard more about Spike's robbery, she was tired and the walk back was going to be difficult enough. She decided to retire back at home, and she would speak to the gang about the whole ordeal in the morning.


	2. Chapter 2

Buffy woke up the next morning feeling less refreshed than she thought she would. She hadn't slept very well that night, and the fight with Spike that she'd had didn't help much. Buffy couldn't help but think that following instinct wasn't her best move. It wasn't the fight with Spike that was worrying her; it was her reaction to the whole situation. The more she thought it over, the more she felt she had screwed up. She let her guard down; she had the chance to find out more about something that could be potentially dangerous, but instead she chose to blow off steam by killing a vampire willy-nilly. As much as she hated to admit it, she should've listened to Spike.

She came to the conclusion that it wasn't worth worrying about. She would go and see Giles today, and speak to him about it, that always made her feel better. She dressed herself in something comfortable yet flattering, that would also help to cheer her up. Of course, nothing could cheer her up more than her boyfriend, Riley, who was on his way to pick her up. Riley was the one thing in Buffy's world that made it all worth it at the end of the day. She finished making herself up, and went downstairs to wait for Riley to arrive.

As she made it to the living room, Joyce came in from the hallway. "Morning" she said, Buffy sat down, looked at the clock and noticed it was almost twelve in the afternoon. "Hmm, almost" Buffy said, detecting the irony in Joyce's voice. "How was last night?" Joyce asked, "Did you kill anything 'hairy'? Joyce came and sat down next to Buffy. "Yes" Buffy replied "The Yeti can't harm anyone now."

Make a joke, she thought to herself, that'll make it better. Buffy couldn't help but be distracted from the conversation, as she sat there constantly window-watching, just waiting for Riley to show up. "So, Riley's on his way?" asked Joyce (who had noticed that Buffy had began to distance herself), in an attempt to make small talk. "Yeah" she replied "We're gonna go feed Giles back on the hairy stuff...that sentence made more sense in my head." Buffy was hesitant to tell anyone about what happened the night before, so much so that she became non-fluent in her speech.

"Honey, are you feeling ok?" Joyce asked. "Fine!" Buffy said in a panic "I mean, yeah, I'm ok. Just...didn't sleep all that well I guess" she had never been particularly good at lying; she usually always cracked under pressure. This didn't work in Buffy's favour, as it meant that her mother, or anyone for that matter, always knew when she was lying. Buffy looked out the window again, only to see no one there.

"Did he say when he was gonna get here?" Joyce asked, once again trying to engage in conversation. "No, he just said he was on his way" Buffy replied. She wasn't even sure she was ready to tell Riley about what had happened. She tried to stop herself worrying again; she was going to tell the whole gang, including Riley.

She looked out the window for a final time, and there, sure enough, stood a familiar red automobile, with a very familiar driver. The driver got out of the car and began to make his way to the front door. He was tall, with a muscular build and light brown hair. He wore a dark green T-shirt with combat trousers. It was Riley. He had once worked for the Initiative as a special agent, but had seen the error of his ways as soon as he fell in love with Buffy. Buffy and Riley were awfully fond of each other, mostly because neither one had ever been with someone who treated them so well. As he walked across the drive, he caught a glance of Buffy. They exchanged smiles through the window as Buffy arose from the couch to answer the door. Buffy perked up as soon as she locked eyes with Riley, and as she approached the front door, her excitement began to build higher and higher.

She opened the door and fell into Riley's embrace. "I missed you too" Riley said, pre-empting what Buffy was about to say. "You read me like a book" Buffy said, tenderly kissing Riley. "Well I don't know about you, but I'm ready for some books!" said Riley. "What?" Buffy asked, staring at Riley blankly. "Books?" Riley repeated, as his expression changed to one of confusion "We are going to see Giles today aren't we?" Buffy realized what Riley was talking about, and suddenly felt like an idiot for not understanding him right away. "Oh...yeah" she replied "Sorry, not exactly Mr Langan today." "So, do you wanna go now? Or do you wanna reunite some more first?" Riley asked, suggestively. "We should go, Giles will be waiting" Buffy said. They turned back around and made their way out the front door. "Bye, Ms Summers" Riley said, waving at Joyce as he left. "Have fun, both of you" Joyce replied.

They left the house, and walked down the drive hand in hand. They climbed into Riley's car and drove off, beginning their journey to Giles'. Joyce stood and watched through the window as the thought of Buffy's demise troubled her.

Buffy sat in complete silence through most of the journey, just watching the town's people doing their daily rounds. She felt at ease now she was with Riley, but was still stressing over letting herself down the night before. She was trying to determine whether or not to tell Riley yet, or whether to wait until she told everyone.

Over at Giles', the gang were just settling down. Giles came in to the living room with tea and cakes for everyone, and placed them on the coffee table. Xander, Willow and Tara sat on the couch, whilst Anya sat down on the armchair in the corner. Everyone helped themselves to tea, sat back down and continued their conversation. Giles sat down on his armchair and took a sip of his tea.

"Yes Xander, we all understand your problem" said Giles "But could we please focus on more important matters." "No!" said Xander, sitting up in his chair "I'm not done complaining. The first stage of dealing with your problems is to complain about them and then beg for sympathy" Xander was currently living in his parent's basement, and had discovered when we woke up that morning that the washing machine had overflowed in the night. Willow, being Xander's best friend, felt obliged to sympathise with him. "There, there" said Willow, patting him on the shoulder "You little solider you." "He's right to be upset" said Anya, Xander's girlfriend "The floor got wet, the bed got wet, everything. It was like this time when an old women wished her son would die in his sleep, and I'd never drowned anyone before and so..." "Anya!" Xander interrupted "I didn't drown. It was just a leak." "Didn't look like that to me. Looked more like a mass orgy had happened!" "That's quite enough Anya" said Giles, who had grown tired of Anya's crude nature. "If we can return to the matter at hand..." Giles continued to say. However, at that moment Buffy and Riley walked in.

"What matter at hand?" asked Buffy, as she walked in the room. Xander got up from the couch and walked over to Buffy in excitement. "Buffy!" he said "I haven't complained about my problem to you yet!" Buffy was confused, she wasn't sure what the big problem was, but it seemed more of an emergency now that Xander was involved. "What problem?" she asked "What happened, is everyone alright?" She began to panic; she feared that it could be linked to what she did last night. "The washing machine leaked in Xander's basement" Anya shouted from across the room. What a relief, Buffy thought. "Oh" she said "Is that the matter at hand? That's the first time we've had to use Yellow Pages for our research" she knew there was more to it, from the way Giles was looking at her. He had a glint in his eye that suggested 'bloody Americans'.

"No, there is something a little more serious I'm afraid" said Giles, as he stood up, removed his glasses and started cleaning them on his jumper. He picked up a copy of _The Sunnydale Press_ and showed it to Buffy. The headline read: _Extra Terrest-rial: Alien Sighted in Town_. And the article read:

_Geraldine Locksmith, a Sunnydale resident of twenty-three years reported last night that she had caught a glimpse of someone out of the corner of her eye. However, the person she saw did not look human, and so upon investigating it further she discovered that in fact, it was not human at all. "It looked abnormally tall" says Locksmith "That's what gave it away to start with. When I followed it I noticed it was turquoise in colour, and had no clothing on, but it didn't have any, well, human parts or body hair or anything!"_

_For years, we as a race have pondered the existence of life from other planets, could what Geraldine saw be the answer to all our questions? Was this creature from a distant galaxy really an alien? The police are investigating the matter further, we urge people not to go out in search of the beast, as we are not yet sure of its motives. We will publish our findings as soon as we know enough about the creature, but for now, take care when you leave the house._

"It says an Alien has been sighted in town" said Giles "But, common sense tells us that it's more than likely to be..." Buffy interrupted Giles because she knew right away what it was. "A Hässlich demon!" said Buffy. Giles looked at her in surprise, and put his glasses back on. "How did you...you didn't go on patrol last night" said Giles, unaware that Buffy had in fact gone out hunting the night before. "I did" said Buffy "And I ran into Spike." "You mean you ran into him with something sharp and pointy?" asked Xander, jokingly. "No, he was just fighting" said Buffy "With another Vampire, who robbed him of something, he didn't say what. But he did say that he got whatever it was from a Hässlich demon." It felt good for Buffy to finally let this information out.

"Well, I don't know what to suggest" said Giles "I suppose you could find the Vampire that robbed him and track him down." "If Spike was robbed, it's gotta be something powerful, right?" asked Willow. This was exactly what Buffy was worried about. "I'm guessing something big" said Buffy "Spike was getting really edgy over loosing this thing. And Giles, there's no way of me tracking this vampire down now." This was the part Buffy was dreading telling Giles about. "You mean Spike killed the vampire?" asked Giles. "No" said Buffy "I killed it, but I didn't know Spike had been robbed, I didn't really care at the time, you have to understand." Giles didn't look as disappointed as Buffy thought he would, he just took off his glasses and cleaned them on his jumper.

"Well, no matter" said Giles, not quite the reaction she was expecting "By nature, Hässlichs aren't, instinctive killers, I can't think what they would be doing with a dangerous object, let alone be wondering the streets of Sunnydale" Buffy was so relieved to hear Giles say that, she suddenly felt the weight lift off her shoulders. "But..." Giles continued, making Buffy's heart sink again "If Spike was, as you say, 'edgy', then it might be worth investigating." "Well, what if it's not?" asked Riley "I mean, the man gets possessive over his leather jacket, it could be something as simple as a cigarette lighter."

Buffy suddenly felt as if she shouldn't have said anything, but she was pleased that everyone was just as confused as she was. "That is true" said Giles, in response to Riley. "But, does everyone remember Harm and Spike's excellent adventure underground to get the immunity gem?" said Xander, remembering Spike's attempts at stealing the Gem of Amara the year before. "He did say it wasn't easy to get" said Buffy "Giles, I think I should try and find this demon. I don't have to kill it. I can just hurt it until it tells me something useful." Buffy, in her intensity, began to feel the urge to kill once again. "Well, don't do anything irrational" said Giles "Remember this creature probably means no harm."

Buffy looked over at Anya sitting in the corner, thinking she could be of some help. "Anya?" said Buffy "What do you know about Hässlich demons?" Anya, being an ex-demon, had an extensive knowledge of demonology, almost as much as Giles. "Just that they're European and ugly." "So you've never met one? You don't know how they'd react if I asked them a few questions?" "No, I never met one" said Anya followed by a few seconds pause. "Ok" she continued "I slept with one once, I was desperate." Buffy _really _wished she hadn't said anything now. "Right" said Buffy "Anyone have anything to add that isn't gonna make me go home and cry myself to sleep?" "Oh!" said Willow, as she had a sudden brainstorm "Me and Tara could try a truth spell, see if we can get the demon to talk.""I can swing by the magic shop later and pick up the ingredients" Tara added. "Alright, you guys have a job" said Buffy "I'm gonna go out and look for this thing tonight."

They finally had a plan, and Buffy finally no longer feared chaos. At least she knew more than she did when she woke up that morning. "How will you know where to find it?" asked Riley. "I'll be on the look out" Buffy replied "If it's in the news, then everybody's gonna be looking for it."

So sure enough, that night, Buffy went back out on patrol looking for the Hässlich. The news had reported that Geraldine Locksmith had followed the creature as far as Victoria Park. Buffy decided to make her way there via First Street, where Geraldine's home was located, and also where the demon was first sighted. She had the whole thing planned out. She would make her way back home with the Hässlich, but instead of going the short way, through Second Street, she would go the long way, through the outskirts of town. This way she didn't risk being seen with the creature, and this also gave Willow and Tara a chance to make their way to Buffy's to perform the truth spell. Although the plan worked in theory, she wasn't entirely sure about taking the demon home with her. She knew nothing about it, she didn't know if trying to talk it into going with her would work. She was going to have to trust Giles and Anya on this one.

As she began to make her way there, she noticed a crowd in the distance, and a news team. She approached closer, and noticed that the Sunnydale police force were there. When she looked closer still, she realised her plans had been foiled by a long strip of yellow tape blocking off Victoria Park to the public.

"It seems the entire park has been blocked off to reasons unknown to us" the correspondent reported to the live news show. "We're about to speak to the chief of police, who is in charge of this operation, to find out what the problem appears to be." Buffy listened, as this was something she needed to hear. She wasn't going to give up just yet. "This park's natural beauty needs to be preserved" The chief said "We understand that someone has started rumours about something other-worldly living in this park, and we would like to take this opportunity to confirm that the rumours are false." The crowd went into a sudden uproar as the police attempted to control them.

Buffy thought this would be the best time to jump the rope, while everyone was distracted. As she fought her way through the crowd she came to the tape, grabbed it with her right hand and pulled it off, tearing it. At that moment, she heard a voice from behind her shout out.

"You shouldn't go in there!" It was a woman's voice, a middle-aged woman by the sound of it. Buffy turned around and saw a short, dumpy woman with dark grey hair tied up in a bun. She was wearing mostly blue, with bright purple slippers. From the way she looked and dressed, Buffy could guess who it was.

"Geraldine" Buffy said "I know what you saw, and I believe you." "Yeah, everyone believes me" Geraldine replied "What's your point?" "My point is that I'm the one who knows what to do about it" said Buffy "The creature you saw doesn't mean any harm, but I need to take a further look at it, if you just let me go through to the park."

Geraldine didn't look impressed in the slightest. She stood and looked at Buffy as if she had just landed from another planet. How ironic, Buffy thought. "Look" said Buffy "I don't have time for this, I need to go." She turned around and tried to go through to the park, but was stopped by Geraldine's call once again. "Everyone is fascinated" she said. "Everyone's interested to know what it was I saw. They wanna know what it is, where it came from. Nobody cares about how I felt. Nobody cares that I spent an evening in fear, fear of my own life." Buffy didn't know what to say to this poor woman. Really, all she wanted was for her to shut up and let Buffy go, but she felt like she should give Geraldine some kind of explanation.

"I care" Buffy replied "That's why I need to go. I need to find this thing and decided what to do with it." That should've made her shut up, but unfortunately for Buffy, she wasn't finished. "Kill it" said Geraldine. Buffy felt at this point like she should just lie so that Geraldine would let her go. "If I have to I will" said Buffy "But first, you just need to let me go through."

All she wanted was some excuse to go and find the Hässlich before it got away, or before the police noticed that she'd broken the barrier. The uproar behind her had turned into a riot, everyone was distracted, and she could've made a run for it ages ago. But still, Geraldine stared at her like a criminal, and Buffy's kind nature insisted that she wait for Geraldine's approval before making a move.

"Ok" Geraldine said, with a sigh. "Thank you" Buffy whispered, as she made a run for it into the park. She ran as fast as she possibly could, until she came to notice a movement in the distance, the same movement that Geraldine had noticed the night before. As Buffy began to pick up speed, so did this figure in the distance.

It was turquoise, tall, and covered in puss-filled spots; it was the monster they'd all been talking about for sure. As she launched herself into a jump, the monster picked up speed, but stumbled, as Buffy jumped him, and pushed him to the ground. She rose to her feet pulled the monster up with her.

"Alright, alright" it said "You got me. Yes, I'm an Alien." Buffy was surprised to hear it speak English. It had a deep, male voice and an Italian-American accent. Its mannerisms were almost human, but it wasn't pleasant to look at, that was for sure. "We both know that's not true, don't we?" said Buffy, hoping she was right in saying that this creature that stood before her was in fact, the Hässlich. "What do you mean? You heard about me on the news and now you've come looking" Said the creature. "So you're not the Hässlich?" asked Buffy, praying that it would give an honest answer. "What?" the creature said, looking shocked and horrified "You know about me? How?" "You've probably heard about me too" said Buffy "I'm pretty big around these parts." "A Slayer?" said the Hässlich, looking surprisingly relieved all of a sudden, "I suppose I had this coming. Ok then, get it over with!" He raised his arms and exposed his chest, as if he were asking to be slain.

"No, that's not why I'm here, I'm not gonna kill you" Buffy said, as much as she would have liked to kill it, she was beginning to take a liking to this creature. "But, isn't that what you do?" he asked. "Yes" she replied "But there are more important things that need killing right now, and I sort of need your help. Think you can help me?" This felt ridiculous, asking a foul-looking demon for help. But as far as foul-looking demons went, this one was pleasant to speak to at least. "I'm not sure" he replied "I'm not really very good at killing; I mean I caught a rabbit when I was a kid, that was about it, and that was hard enough!" This was quite possibly the strangest encounter with a demon Buffy had ever had, this creature was not only harmless, but also a complete dimwit! She could trust this thing.

"I don't need you to kill anything, that's my job" Buffy said "I just need to ask you a few questions, is that alright?" The creature stood and stared at her in expectation. He started waving his hands in a circular motion, signalling Buffy to start asking. Buffy just stood and stared right back. "Fire away" he said "I don't have all day." "Not here" said Buffy "I need you to come with me, we'll get you in a safe place where you won't get mobbed." "And how are you gonna do that?" he asked "There's already a mob just a few hundred yards that way that are waiting for me. I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm not that hard to miss!" This was where Buffy's plan kicked in; she knew this was going to be an issue. "We can go the long way, around the outskirts, you won't be seen, I promise. Just come with me." "Alright" he agreed.

He followed Buffy to the edge of the park, ducking down to her level to avoid being seen from a distance. "I'm Mac by the way" he said, breaking the silence. "I'm Buffy" Buffy replied, smiling at him. She couldn't get over how friendly and level headed this guy was.

The walk back to Buffy's was long, but they managed to get back safely without being spotted. They walked down the drive, past Joyce's car. That's when it suddenly dawned on Buffy that her mum was home. "Nice ride" said Mac, admiring the car. "Thank you" replied Buffy in a whisper. Buffy had to think quickly, what was she going to do? The sight of Mac would leave her mum completely shell shocked. She would have to come up with something believable.

Buffy rang the doorbell and then quickly turned back round to Mac. "I need you to be out of sight, just for a minute" she said. "What?" Mac asked, suddenly wondering if Buffy had lured him into a trap. "Just stand out of the way, you'll see why in a minute" Buffy whispered in a state of panic. "Ok, if you say so" said Mac, hiding behind a wall.

Joyce answered the door right at the last second, Mac just got away. "Hey Buffy, is everything alright?" she asked. "Yes" Buffy replied, as she began to formulate an excuse in her head. "I don't want you to be surprised at what you're about to see" she said "But Giles wants me to do a demonstration on how to kill a Hässlich demon, and we've found an actor to play the Hässlich demon, and he is wearing some very, very convincing make-up, and I have him right here: Mac, if you just wanna show yourself" she shouted over at Mac, who appeared from behind the wall. "Hi, I'm an actor" said Mac, unconvincingly. "And Giles and everyone are coming over to meet him, and it will be a totally secret meeting so I need you to not be there, and did I mention he's an actor?" This was one of those cases where Buffy had to lie. She was not very good at it to say the least.

"Yes, you did" said Joyce "Do you do this sort of work often?" "All the time" replied Mac "I'm always dressing up in horribly, disgusting outfits that just about fit my abnormally tall build and..." Buffy nudged him to shut him up. "So is that Ok Mum?" Buffy asked. "Sure, I have some work to do upstairs anyway" said Joyce.

Joyce made her way up stairs, and Buffy brought Mac into the living room. "Make yourself comfortable" Buffy said "I just have to make a phone call. Can I get you anything?" Mac sat down and slouched back on the couch. "If you have any Gin that would be great, but if not, a coffee will do nicely" Mac replied.

Buffy slipped into the kitchen, grabbed the phone and called Willow. She was excited to tell everyone about Mac, but at the back of her mind she was worried that they might not approve. As nice as Mac was, he was a demon, the things that Buffy was destined to kill. That's why she wanted them all to meet Mac, to prove that he wouldn't hurt a fly. Willow was the first person Buffy decided to call up, as she was going to coming over anyway to perform the truth spell. Buffy wasn't sure, however, that they needed to use the spell now that she had met the demon, and realised that he would probably tell the truth anyway.

Buffy dialled the number, and waited. Willow and Tara were waiting at the other end, with ingredients for a truth spell on hand. Willow answered hastily and in a panic. "Buffy?" she said. "Yeah, it's me" said Buffy, as she moved the phone away from her ear to avoid being deafened by Willow's shouts. "Did you get the demon?" Willow asked "Yeah" replied Buffy "But I don't think we're gonna need a truth spell, it seems pretty stable." "Are you sure we can trust it?" Willow asked, she was surprised to hear Buffy being so thoughtful towards, what was effectively, the enemy. "We can trust him, he's a good guy" said Buffy. "Guy?" Willow asked "How do you know he's a guy?" Willow began to feel weary. "He speaks, English, his name's Mac, and he's actually really cool." "Oh, Ok" said Willow, who wasn't really sure how to take the news in "I'm confused, you've been talking to the demon?" "Yeah, I want you guys to come over and meet him" said Buffy.

Buffy put the phone down, and proceeded to call up the rest of the guys. Buffy was very happy, not only did they have more information on Spike's robbery, but they also had a new edition to the Scooby gang.


	3. Chapter 3

Almost every person that Buffy called had the same reaction. They were confused as to why Buffy was so enthusiastic about this Hässlich demon, and why she was so keen for everyone to meet him. The only exceptions to this were Anya (who once slept with such a demon, much to everyone's disgust) and Giles, who both understood the nature of the Hässlich, and were fascinated to see one.

After she had contacted everyone, they all began to make their way over to Buffy's. They settled down in the living room, and started to engage in conversation with Mac. Buffy made Tea and Coffee for everyone, grabbed a chair from the kitchen and sat down with the rest of the guys around the coffee table. Anya sat awkwardly trying to remember what her old Hässlich lover had looked like, and began making comparisons with Mac. Willow and Tara sat holding hands listening to the conversation, which was mostly between Mac, Xander, Riley and Giles.

"And so then Buffy brought me back here, I did some impromptu acting, and now I'm sitting here talking to you" Mac explained. "Wow" said Xander "And there I was dusting the shelves and splashing around in filthy laundry water all day." At that point, Buffy cut into the conversation. "Mac, please promise me you won't ever take up acting" she said, after seeing his attempts at trying to trick Joyce earlier on. "I thought I was pretty good" said Mac "I was method acting. What were you doing?" "Improvising" Buffy replied "Which I guess you were too...but, we do have some important questions we need to ask, so if we can focus on that now." The smile on Mac's face slowly dropped at the thought of being questioned, especially as he didn't have any idea of the context.

"Go ahead" Mac said "What did I do?" Giles moved closer to Mac, as he took off his glasses and cleaned them. "We were told by a...someone we know that you helped him to acquire something. Something potentially powerful" Giles said. Mac had no idea at that point what Giles was talking about. "I don't deal anything" Mac said "I've bought from dealers, but I don't deal myself, I don't know where you would have heard about this." "If it helps, the guy in question was a vampire" Buffy said.

Mac had a sudden realisation, he remembered Spike taking the item from him, he remembered giving it to Spike against his recommendation. "A Vampire?" Mac asked "You're not talking about Spike here are you? Because I insisted he not take that Talisman, but he didn't listen" "Talisman?" Giles asked "What kind of Talisman? What do you mean you insisted he not take it?" Buffy suddenly became aware that he might not have been entirely honest.

"What Spike took is very powerful" Mac said, as the gang gathered round, listening intently. "It was called the Phylacterium Desiderio, very ancient; the name sorta gives that away. Some kind of Latin name, I'm not sure exactly what it means, but it was forged in 1230 by a witch doctor by the name of Georgio Belovy. A good man, always did what he did out of the kindness of his heart. He created the Talisman of Desiderio, as it became known, to be used for better purposes than it was later used for."

Giles was hanging on to Mac's every word, making sure he didn't hesitate, or pause, or make any historical mistakes. So far, Mac appeared to be telling the truth.

"I'm guessing it didn't make puppies?" Buffy asked, jokingly. "Not exactly" Mac replied "See it gives the person who is in possession of the Talisman the power to summon any living creature it wants; Humans, Demons, and yes, if you wanted them, Puppies. But Belovy, unfortunately didn't think it through. He intended it to be used for good, but didn't keep it safe. It was stolen from him by group of Vampires."

"Giles, have you heard of this Talisman before?" Buffy asked, making sure Mac was telling the truth. "I've heard it mentioned before, but not in that context" Giles replied "I seem to recall it being used for decorative purposes." "Well that's the thing" Mac said "For years it was out of use, the vampire group, who called themselves 'The Desiderio', lost it. That was, sadly, after they'd used it to wipe out whole towns of people, and I mean _whole _towns of people. It spent years being passed down from person to person, from demon to demon, not one of them using it to summon anything; just to hang on the wall, or wear as a necklace."

"And so, how did you end up with the Talisman?" Riley asked. "Like I said, I sometimes buy from dealers" Mac said "This guy offered me a really good deal on the Talisman. I bought it, but then later found out something terrible." "And what was that?" Buffy asked, knowing in her gut that there was something important Mac hadn't told them. "That the Desiderio are back!" Mac said.

Buffy suddenly got up out of her chair in surprise. Spike had told her that the Talisman was in possession of another Vampire. Giles put his glasses back on and glanced over at Buffy, locked in thought. They realised that they had both jumped to the same conclusion; that the Talisman was currently in possession of The Desiderio once again.

"I wanted to get rid of it" Mac continued to explain "I wanted to hide it so no one would ever find it, but Spike wanted it so bad, I gave it to him, but strongly suggested he keep it safe." Giles edged slowly over to Mac in suspense. "You say that the Desiderio are back?" asked Giles. "Yeah" said Mac "So we can only pray that Spike's keeping it safe."

Everyone in the room stared at each other in complete disbelief, except Mac. Everyone else knew something Mac didn't. Mac didn't know that the Talisman had been stolen from Spike. "What?" asked Mac "What's wrong?" as Buffy silently volunteered to be the one to tell him. "The Talisman has been stolen" she said "Spike didn't keep it safe." Mac suddenly turned a paler shade of turquoise. He sat up in the chair and began to breathe heavily. "Then I'm afraid there's nothing more I can do" he said "You know where to find Spike?" Buffy grabbed her coat and put it on, as she started to make her way upstairs. "I know where to find him alright" she said.

She marched upstairs to her room and grabbed her weapons. She hid a stake inside the sleeve of her coat and put a bottle of holy water in her pocket. She hurried out of her bedroom and down the landing, but she crossed paths with Joyce in the hall way.

"What's going on?" Joyce asked "Is this part of the demonstration?" Buffy couldn't afford to lie at such a time "Something urgent has just come up, me and the guys need to go" Buffy replied. "But what about that poor actor?" Joyce asked. "We'll make sure to get him home safely" Buffy replied, as she tried to get away quickly, "It's not like he doesn't understand these things."

Buffy eventually made it down the stairs, and immediately started distributing weapons. She threw an axe at Riley, who caught it with one hand "Riley I'm gonna need you to back me up on this one" she said "We need to take these guys down as soon as we can, which means killing them tonight if we get the chance." "Sure" said Riley "But how will we know where to find them?" "We'll try Spike first, see if we can get anything more out of him than I managed to last night" Buffy said "And hopefully, with the introduction of better weapons, he should start talking."

Buffy put her bag down on the coffee table. She turned to Mac and threw a stake at him, but he struggled to catch it. "What, you want me to kill?" asked Mac. "I know it's not in your nature, but you're just gonna have to trust me on this one" Buffy replied. "I never kill anything; I don't know where to start!" Mac explained, in a fluster. "It's easy" Xander said "Shove that pointy bit into Spike's heart, it won't heart him a bit!" "Alright, I'll give it a try" Mac said. "Thank you" Buffy said, who began to turn away when Mac grabbed her shoulder.

"Buffy?" he said "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I let Spike have the Talisman, I should've been more careful." He was expecting Buffy to lash out on him after what he did. He didn't expect her to, in any way, understand. "Don't worry. You're new to this." Buffy said "I've been doing this for years and I make mistakes. I should've found out more about this Vampire cult when I had the chance, instead I chose to kill my only lead. You made a mistake Mac, we all do it."

Giles appeared from the corner of the room. "You can't blame yourselves for this" said Giles "The forces of darkness will stop at nothing to get what they want, there's nothing you could have done to stop it." Buffy always found Giles to be reassuring, though she still blamed herself for throwing them off track.

"It doesn't matter now anyway, we're gonna stop this thing!" Buffy said. "But I need the rest of you to go home, where you'll be safe." "But Buffy" Willow said "You'll need more than just the three of you to carry out a Vamp massacre." "Maybe" Buffy replied "We'll bring Spike with us if we have to. But if the Desiderio have got the Talisman then chances are they've already started using it, and I can't risk loosing any of you."

Giles picked an axe up from Buffy's weapon bag and joined along side her "I need to be there with you Buffy" Giles said "If the Talisman needs destroying I might be the one to do it." Buffy had to think about this one. Giles was never the strongest on the battlefield; in fact he was usually the one who ended up getting knocked out. Buffy begrudgingly agreed. "Ok" she said "But the rest of you, promise me you'll go back home."

Everyone agreed to leave. They left the house together, with Buffy, Giles, Riley and Mac going one direction, and Willow, Xander, Tara and Anya going the other. The journey to Spike's crypt was silent, with no apparent danger. It was just a normal night, with empty streets lit by streetlamps, pedestrians minding their own business, dull, cobbled streets dampened in colour by the moonlight. Much the same as it had been the previous night. It was evident that the Talisman was not yet in use, so they still had time to stop it.

The only thing out-the-ordinary they came across was one Vampire who came towards them in the cemetery from the opposite direction. He stopped in his tracks as he saw Buffy and her friends approaching.

"I don't have time for you" Buffy said, swinging her axe as she passed, beheading the creature. The Vampire turned to dust before Mac's eyes, something he had not seen for a long time. "Whoa!" Mac said "Have they always died like that? I seem to recall they used to make a different sound!" Mac had stopped to admire the pile of dust that now lay on the ground.

"Mac, come on!" Riley shouted from up ahead. "Sorry!" Mac said, launching himself forward. The group continued walking, following the Vampire's tracks that ran along side the path. "We should try tracing the vampire's steps, it might lead us to wherever the cult are hiding" Giles suggested. They continued the route to Spike's crypt, whilst tracing the Vampire's trail. However, they soon came to notice that the trail and the footpath were running almost completely parallel. Buffy, in her realisation, stopped.

"Oh no" she said "Looks like Spike's definitely our lead now. Does that mean we can't kill him?" "What do you mean?" Mac asked. "Look" Buffy said, whilst pointing to the trail the Vampire had left behind, that lead directly to Spike's crypt.

The group moved onwards to Spike's crypt, bursting in through the door with force. Spike was putting things into a wicker basket, throwing items around with fury, mumbling under his breath aggressively. He jumped up onto his feet with surprise as Buffy and the others crashed into his crypt.

"Oh god, what do you want?" Spike said, throwing a torn pillow case in the basket. "Hmm, let me see..." Buffy said "A well-paid job, a house in a Malibu..." as she said this she grabbed spike by the scruff of his jacket and pinned him against the wall, "And oh yeah, a few answers!" she continued.

"Look, I didn't know they were back alright?" Spike said "Now let go of me!" Buffy pushed Spike hard against the wall, so hard that it made him shout with pain. "So you do know about them?" Buffy asked. "Of course he knows" said Mac "That's exactly what I tried to tell him when he wanted to take it from me!" "I thought you were just talking Bollocks" said Spike "I assumed you wanted to keep it for yourself." "But you saw me trying to get rid of it!" Mac argued. "You must have known something Spike, or you wouldn't have wanted the Talisman so bad" said Buffy, who released him from her grip.

"Look, I swear I didn't know." Spike said, pointing at Mac, "This daft bastard was talking History at me, and I wasn't bothered in the slightest about where it came from or what it did, I just wanted to take the Talisman and keep it."

While Spike was talking, Buffy noticed his right eye twitching every time it looked around. She noticed him subtly peeking over to where one of the coffins sat in his crypt. His speech was broken down and nervous, as if he were hiding something. Spike was slowly edging backwards, thinking Buffy hadn't noticed. Buffy watched his every move, and moved a few inches closer every time he edged away. Spike soon caught on to what Buffy was doing. He stopped, and stood in front of where the coffin was.

"Well here's something interesting Spike" Buffy said, as the other guys started to notice Spike acting funny as well, "Just killed a buddy of yours, his steps traced back to here. Funny isn't it?" Buffy knew, and Spike knew that she knew, that one of the members of the Desiderio had just been here.

"Err...Yeah!" Spike said "Hilarious. It wasn't one of those cult guys, I can promise you!" Even Buffy wasn't that bad at lying. "Drop the act Spike" Buffy said "What are you hiding in here?" She barged past Spike and went to open the Coffin. "Nothing" Spike said, pushing himself into Buffy's way. Buffy punched him hard and threw him into the corner of the room. He fell to the ground with a hard thud, and tried to get back up.

Buffy struggled to open the Coffin, and in the time it took to un-hinge, Spike had managed to find his feet, and lunged towards Buffy. Riley blocked his path before he could get to her. Spike went to throw a punch at Riley, but the chip that was implanted in Spike's brain was triggered, and sent a shocking pain through Spike's head. Spike began to roar with pain as he fell back down to the ground.

Buffy finally managed to open the Coffin fully, and inside was something she didn't expect to see. It leaped out at her, but she dodged it. It landed face first on the ground, and jumped to its feet quickly. It was another Vampire.

"We will not let you foil our plans, Slayer" it said. "Really?" Buffy asked "'Cause you're not doing a great job so far!" She anticipated engaging in combat with the vampire, but he was armed with a dagger. This was going to be harder than she though. They began to fight, with Riley backing-up Buffy by attacking the vampire from behind. The vampire had quick reflexes, and managed to block both of them without any trouble. Giles charged at the creature with his axe, but was aggressively thrown backwards. He hit the wall and fell to the ground next to Spike. Spike decided it would be best to not get involved. In fact, Spike was more worried that they would make his crypt untidy. He was, however, concerned about the thing that was sitting in his wicker basket. He crawled his way over to the basket, and began to rummage through it. Mac stood watching from the corner, while he struggled to find his stake.

When Mac eventually found it, he turned it around so the sharp end was facing away from him. He held it with both hands, and charged forwards towards the vampire. He screamed a loud battle cry as he ran towards the fight, which caused the vampire to shift his focus from the fight, to the demon that was running towards him. Mac ran forward so confidently that he barely noticed that the vampire had broken his way through both Buffy and Riley's attacks. The vampire launched himself upwards to Mac's height, and slit Mac's throat as he leaped. He landed on his feet, and came and stood close to Mac, with a proud posture and a smirk look on his face.

"You do not concern me, demon!" The vampire said. Mac stumbled backwards for a few seconds, blood spraying violently from his neck. He fell to the ground bleeding and panting heavily. The colour drained from his skin, as he looked apologetically at Buffy. Buffy moved forward to be at his side, but before either of them could say anything, Mac fell forwards, and lay motionless on the ground. As the fight was temporarily halted, Buffy and Riley stood, devastated, as they looked over the body of their friend as he took his final breath.

Giles stood up and grabbed his axe, taking a violent swing at the vampire where he stood. The fiend blocked his attack, and turned away from him to face Spike, who had finally found what he was looking for in the basket. Buffy stood directly behind the vampire as his back was turned, with a stake held ready to slay him. At the last second, Spike turned around to reveal what was in his hand.

"Here" Spike said, as he held it up in the air. It was gold and ruby-red in colour, and hexagonal in shape. The edges were smooth and polished, and the diamonds in the centre of the object shone brightly, brighter than anything Buffy had ever seen in her life. It was roughly 30 inches in perimeter, and from the way Spike was holding it, Buffy could gather that it was heavy. No one had any doubt that it was the Talisman of Desiderio. Spike had somehow gained the Talisman back, and it appeared that he was willingly giving it away. "Take your bloody trinket if it means so much to you!" Spike shouted across the room. He threw the Talisman under his arm; it slid across the floor making a large sound like a bell as it made contact with the ground.

Buffy could not believe her eyes, this powerful object willingly thrown away to someone who wanted it for selfish gain at the loss of others. It glided across the dusty floor past where Mac lay slain, stopping at the feet of another vampire. The vampire picked the Talisman up and held it in his hands for just a few seconds before he threw it back to Spike.

"Spike, what do you think you're doing?" the vampire said "You cannot risk letting the slayer get her hands on the Phylacterium Desiderio!" Everyone was just as confused as each other about what had just happened. Spike had somehow been in on the Desiderio's plot, but no one was quite sure of his role in the plot.

Spike caught the Talisman with one hand as it was hurtled at him. Spike threw the Talisman down on the ground hard, causing it to chip. "I don't wanna be a part of this!" Spike said "All I wanted was to keep it, maybe have it up on the wall, use it to summon a meal or two, but no! You had to come and find me, take and from me, and then tell me I had to hide it while you found out more about the bloody ritual. 'Its fine' you said 'The slayer will never suspect a thing', well look who showed up tonight! The Slayer and her merry men!"

Spike had inadvertently revealed almost everything about the Desiderio's plan, suddenly, everything made sense to Buffy. "Oh Spike" she said "Trust you to bite off more than you can chew." "The ritual is almost complete" said the vampire "It's too late for you to stop us now Slayer, we are more powerful than you can imagine." Buffy went close to the vampire's face, focusing all her hate on him. Her hate was so strong that even a vampire of this strength and ability felt threatened. "You know what?" Buffy said "You just killed my friend, I really think you're underestimating how powerful I can be when I'm angry. And guess what? I'm angry!"

With those words, Buffy beheaded the creature with a brutal swing of her axe. Before the vampire could respond, he had dissolved into nothing but dust. The fight was over, and Buffy finally had the chance to say goodbye to Mac. She knelt down beside his body, and held onto his hand. She felt a single tear roll down her cheek as the memory of meeting him earlier that day came back to her. Riley and Giles walked up behind her and joined her in grieving. Riley helped Buffy up off the ground, and held her in his arms to comfort her.

"We should take the body back to Victoria Park" said Buffy. "That's where I found him; he deserves to go back there. He belongs there." Riley picked Mac's body up and slung his limp arm over his shoulder. Riley walked out of Spike's crypt, carrying the body of their friend back to his home. Buffy took one last look at him before he left. "Goodbye" Buffy whispered, drying her tears before she turned back round to Spike.

Spike came towards Buffy as he tried to apologise. "Buffy, I'm sorry" he said "I didn't know it was gonna..." Buffy interrupted him "Don't, Spike" she said, turning her back from him, "I have nothing to say to you."

At this point, Giles stepped in. "Buffy, as tragic as this is, and as idiotic as Spike has been, he might still be of use to us" Giles said, pausing for a few seconds. "He may know something about this ritual" he continued.

Buffy hesitated for what seemed like two whole minutes, trying to determine whether or not she could look at Spike after what had just happened. The Talisman was no longer in possession of its owners, but they knew where it was, and if the ritual was nearly complete, then there was a fear that very soon it could be in use. Buffy decided to put her hatred aside for just a few minutes, for the sake of the lives of everyone she cared about. She turned around to face them both, and began to ask questions.

"What do you know?" she asked Spike, who was all of a sudden very much on her side. "I hear the ritual's pretty simple" Spike said "It's easy enough for one of your witches to do it. You can find transcripts of the ritual in most books that mention the Talisman, but you have to follow the instructions carefully or else the whole thing can backfire."

Giles and Buffy suddenly both became very tense. What did Spike mean by backfire? The whole situation was very confusing, and it didn't help that they were both emotionally and physically wounded.

"Giles, what do you suggest we do?" Buffy asked, hoping to find his answer much more comforting. "I suggest we try and find out how far they into the ritual they are, and well, if we can, stop it! Of course, first, we have to find the ritual." "Ok, tomorrow, at yours, research, research, research" Buffy said "But first we should go home, get some sleep, give ourselves time to heal." "Of course" Giles said "You're alright getting home?" "Yeah, I'll be fine" she replied, making her way across the room to where the Talisman sat. She picked it up, and placed it in her bag, hidden. "I think I should keep hold of this for the time being." She continued.

They made their way out the door, while Spike stood and watched his prized possession leave a final time.

Buffy returned back home safely, and was greeted by her mother at the door. "Buffy, it's so late, are you alright?" Joyce asked. "Yeah" Buffy replied "We had to deal with, some stuff, and there's more still to deal with so I need to get some sleep."

She started limping her way up the stairs before her mother asked her a question she didn't really want to be asked. "Did that actor get home alright?" she asked. Buffy stood on the stairs and glanced out the window, dazed. She looked over in the direction that Victoria Park was, visualising Mac, finally at peace. "Yeah" Buffy replied, with a smile "He's home."

She went upstairs to bed, to rest, ready for the chaos that would be the next day. She was ready now. The Desiderio had given her a reason. She was ready to kill every one of them.

The next day began in the same fashion as the previous one. Buffy got up, got dressed, and waited for Riley to pick her up. Only today, Buffy was dreading Riley's arrival, because the inevitable question she would have to ask him was what he had done with Mac's body. She wanted to know, desperately, but was simply dreading asking the question.

She looked out the window, and there he was again, in his red automobile and his dark green outfit. She answered the door, and they locked into an embrace. Riley could feel her pain.

"Is he at rest?" Buffy asked, trying to avoid using the word 'body' again. "He's tucked away in a beautiful corner of the park" Riley said "With the wildlife, seems like the place Mac would've wanted to go." Buffy was pleased to hear this. This meant that they could put the whole ordeal behind them, at least temporarily. "You ready to go?" he asked. "Yeah" Buffy said, though she wasn't entirely sure she was. They climbed into Riley's car and made the journey to Giles' once again.

At Giles' the research began. Giles had sorted his books into three different piles: Ancient Weapons and Amulets, Summoning Rituals and Vampire Cults. Each person took one book from each pile to look through, and look out for any mention of the Talisman. Even if there was no mention of the ritual, they could cross-reference with another book in hope of finding a mention there.

The meeting was difficult to say the least. No one had had time to feed back to those who had not witnessed the events of the previous night. Everything had to be explained to Xander, Anya, Willow and Tara. They had to be told about the ritual, about Spike, and of course, about Mac. Sadly, they had no time to loose, which also meant no time to grieve. This made the research very difficult as everyone had Mac on their minds while they were trying to find evidence.

Everyone was concentrating so hard that there was a deadly silence that filled the room. The silence was broken by a sound of accomplishment from Willow. "Ooh" Willow shouted, making Tara jump. "Looks like Willow's found something!" Tara said. "You've found the ritual?" Giles asked "No, but I think I might have found a way of finding it" Willow replied "See the ritual is mostly an incantation. I mean, there's a sage brush involved, but the most part of the ritual is spoken word, so we want to be looking specifically under incantations."

The group looked at Willow in awe at her discovery. "Excellent work Willow" said Giles "We've been looking in the wrong places. I stand absolutely corrected." "Willow's being singled out, that's not fair!" said Xander, sarcastically "I was really starting to get somewhere!" "Xander, you've been staring at the same page for fifteen minutes" said Anya, who had not been much help herself. Everyone looked at Xander with despair. "I stand absolutely corrected" Xander said.

"But wait" said Buffy "If the ritual is so simple, then why haven't these guys figured it out yet?" Buffy was concerned that there may have been more to the ritual than they had thought. "Well that's the thing, it's not simple" explained Willow "The sage brush has to be pure, and it has to be blessed by the person who casts the spell, if it isn't it..." Willow suddenly paused and looked up from her book in surprise.

"What? What happens?" asked Buffy, who was now beginning to feel scared. "If the ritual is performed with a sage brush that has not been blessed by the person performing the ritual, then the Talisman is rendered powerless" Willow said. But that was a good thing, Buffy thought to herself. Actually, suddenly everything seemed perfect. "So all we have to do is get a sage brush that is not pure, and the Talisman can't be used to summon anything?" Tara asked. "Of course!" Giles shouted, removing his glasses, "It's so simple! That's what Spike meant when he said it could backfire." "But do you have a brush that's not blessed?" Buffy asked. "No, but we can go to the magic box right now and get one" Willow said "Each witch has to bless their sage brush themselves, so any brush I get from the magic box will be un-pure. We can make the Talisman powerless Buffy!"

"Perfect!" Buffy said. Everything was clear, and almost everything was well, for the first time in a long time the mission was no longer misty and foggy in Buffy's mind. "Riley, can you give Willow and Tara a lift to the magic box?" she asked "Yeah sure, you have the Talisman at home right?" Riley said. "Yeah" Buffy replied "But I can swing home, get it and be back by the time you guys get back. Giles, Xander, Anya, You guys keep searching for the incantation, have it ready by the time we're all back here."

Buffy felt strong, she felt powerful again now that she knew exactly where to go next. She felt as if everything that had happened over the last few days was finally behind her, and she was finally ready to feed her urge to kill.

"And what next?" Riley asked. "Then, we do that ritual, and prepare for war!" Buffy said, as she strolled out the front door and headed for home, her mind filled with thoughts of going on a killing rampage. She could do Mac justice, and save the world once again, all in one afternoon.


	4. Chapter 4

Everything went according to plan. After much cross-referencing, Giles managed to find the transcript for the incantation that matched the description Willow found. Willow and Tara managed to find an un-pure sage brush (and a set of candles because they were on offer), and Buffy returned with the Talisman. They were set to perform the ritual.

Willow laid the books out on Giles' table, with clear instructions on how to perform the ritual. "It says the ritual can get pretty tense" Willow said "so I'm gonna need one of you to be my anchor, and snap me out of it if I get too far into another plane." Tara stepped up and volunteered to help "I'll do it" Tara said "You can trust me." "Listen Will, I'm not gonna think for one minute that we can trust Spike" Buffy said "He could have told his buddies by now that we know about the ritual. I'm gonna stand by just in case" "But, it's daylight!" said Willow "The ritual isn't gonna take all that long." "I can't risk it Will" Buffy said "They can't send Vampires, but there's no saying what else they'll send." "Alright, but be careful" Willow said.

Buffy laid the Talisman on the table in front of Willow. She brushed Willow's arm as they glanced at each other, giving a half smile. Buffy grabbed her weapons and headed out the front door. Willow was ready to perform. She laid the sage brush across the top of the Talisman, and looked over at the others.

"I'm gonna need you to pace yourselves" Willow said "In case anything happens." Xander, Riley, Giles and Anya moved backwards, away from Willow. "I think I paced myself a long time ago" Xander said. "I think I'm ready to start, and I'm terrified, so there's no saying how this is gonna turn out!" Willow said.

Willow was so nervous she was shaking like a leaf. Several thoughts were going through her mind like a montage. What would happen if the text was wrong? What if The Desiderio wanted exactly this to happen? She could only trust her own judgement, which wasn't always right. Everyone was watching, everyone was counting on her. Her only option was to do the spell and hope for the best. She started the ritual; she convinced herself that she was confident enough to make it work. She began to read the first part of the Incantation:

_Oh brothers of the Master, Slaves to the ruler, and friends of the earth. Come forth, and do what bidding I wish. _

She picked up the sage brush, and began waving it in a zigzag motion over the Talisman. The ruby, diamond centre began to glow. She continued reading the text:

_Take what power I give thee, and use it as I seek. Take of my thoughts, my spirit, my heart and mind, dispose of your own will and keep it behind. Make not your own Bread, or love to please, but make of mine, and notions like these. Come from the North, the East, the South and the West; come from your homes, your places of rest. _

She changed her motion to a circular one, around the space that surrounded the Talisman. The centre of the Talisman lit up in multiple colours. It started red, and changed to purple and then to blue, and soon it was shifting to every colour in the spectrum in quick flashes. A visible force field appeared out of thin air, surrounding Willow and the ritual set-up on the table. Before long, a strong breeze flew across the room, sending papers and books flying. The others were struggling to stay upright, and we're holding on to anything they could find to try and fight the wind. Willow was protected by the force field set up around her. She came over in a panic as she began to feel light-headed, and found it hard to breathe. Tara could not get through the force field to get to Willow. Tara was beginning to panic also as she watched her girlfriend slowly go insane.

Willow's only option was to carry on with the ritual, and ignore everything else, even Tara. Willow was concentrating so much, that she hadn't even noticed the sudden darkness that filled the room. The sun went down in the sky, and night had thrown itself upon them. Willow continued to read the incantation, belting it out loud to drown out the sound of the wind that had grown even stronger.

_See the darkness I create, ignore all love and all hate. See the world as it is, make it change, make it shine, make it mine. _

The Talisman began to hover above the table, changing colour in the centre to a clear, bright, white beacon of light that filled the room and shone so brightly that that it lit up the entire street.

Meanwhile, as Willow's ritual brought darkness upon Sunnydale, the Desiderio began gathering in their masses. They knew that the ritual had already begun, and they knew exactly where it was taking place. From their hide-out, they had a clear view of the bright beam of light that burned in the distance. Each one took a weapon in hand, and headed off towards Giles' house. Every member of the Desiderio, armed, marching towards their precious gold, with their heads filled with despair and hate.

From Spike's crypt, the light could be seen. Spike knew well that Willow had started the ritual. He ran as fast as gravity could take him, with intentions of joining the others in battle. The whole town watched this one light grow larger and larger, as they stood and stared with eyes wide open. Buffy stood in a battle stance, ready for anything that came for her.

Buffy's perception was hazy. Her primary goal was to do justice to Mac, but she forgot that these creatures would stop at nothing to get what they wanted, and she was the only thing standing between them and the Talisman. The mob came into view, and suddenly, all Buffy could think of was the two dozen vampires that were running towards her.

Riley could see through Giles' window that the Desiderio were coming. Willow would be in danger if they got any closer, and so would the Talisman. The force field could only protect so much. Riley knew what he had to do. He forced himself forward, against the storm, pushing forward with his entire body, grabbing a weapon on his way to the front door. As he opened it, it swung forward, hitting him hard in the face. He fell to the ground, and struggled to get up again as the wind was so strong. As he stepped outside, he felt the wind die down. Looking back inside, the storm was still blowing in Giles' living room, and was becoming ever stronger. A purple mist circled the Talisman, as Willow read out the last line of the Incantation.

_Together we can have the power, create the power and be the power. Turn this bright, light day into the darkest hour._

Riley closed the door behind him. In the distance, he made out the silhouette of Spike running along side the vampires. He grabbed one of them by the head, twisting until the head came clean off. Riley stood beside Buffy in a battle stance, as Spike joined them.

"Thought you might need a second pair of hands" Riley said. "Always a good thing to have" Buffy added, smiling at Riley. "I'm gonna see you two through this" Spike said "Even if we all get killed." "Way to look it at Spike" Buffy said, before realising that the battle had begun. Every vampire charged forward, weapons in hand. The three of them blocked every attack that was thrown at them and began to attack back.

Buffy, Spike and Riley engaged in duals with several vampires at once, killing each one individually whilst trying to fight off the others. A variety of slaying methods were used to kill the vampires off. Some were beheaded, some were staked, and some were sliced right across the chest. Buffy came face to face with a vampire who had come armed with a torch. Buffy kicked him in the stomach, grabbing his torch as it slipped out of his hand. She flipped the torch round and set the Vampire alight as he lay on the ground.

Spike engaged in battle with a vampire that had come un-armed. Spike was beaten to a bloody pulp, as he struggled to stay on his own two feet. Before the vampire could continue to beat Spike, Riley appeared from behind, and pushed a stake straight through the vampire's heart.

The battle was down to the last four vampires, but Buffy and her heroes were not giving up just yet. They stood in a line, parallel to the team of villains that stood opposite. They prepared to finish the battle once and for all.

Inside, the ritual was coming to an end. The purple mist dissolved, and sparks suddenly started flying from the Talisman. It flew across the room, as the force field and the bright light disappeared, and the wind dropped promptly. The Talisman hit the wall, and fell back down to the ground, as Willow, Xander, Anya and Giles fell to the ground also. Tara stood up as she became concerned about everyone else.

"Is everyone alright?" Tara asked. "Surprisingly, yes" Giles replied, standing up "Where's Buffy?" "I don't know" Willow replied, sitting on the floor "But, did the ritual work?" "How will we know if it worked?" Xander asked. "All the colour has drained from the Talisman" Giles said "It's powerless."

Everyone got up off the floor and cheered, as everything became brighter. The sun returned to the sky, and the whole town celebrated. Outside, the vampires, had just begun to charge forwards, as the sun beat down on them. They all shrieked loudly, as they crumbled into nothing but ash.

"We did it!" Buffy said, holding on tightly to Riley. Spike ran inside, using his coat to protect him from sunlight. "What did you do that for?" Spike shouted at Willow "I nearly bloody fried out there!" "Aww, wouldn't that have been a shame?" Xander said.

Buffy and Riley ran back inside, smiling. "Great job everybody" she said, hugging Willow, "You saved us Will!" "Yes" Giles said "We all did spectacularly." "Yeah" Spike said "Even I helped." "But Spike, you caused it" Buffy said. "Exactly" Spike replied "So that balances everything out right?" No one replied. Everyone ignored Spike and continued to tidy Giles' living room.

As everyone helped to put books, papers and ornaments back where they belonged, Riley picked up the shell of the Talisman from the ground. Every last bit of shine that the object once had was gone. The object looked dull, dark and dreary. It had been chipped from where it flew across the room and hit the wall. The Talisman could no longer even be used as a decoration.

"So what are we gonna do with this?" Riley asked, as everyone stopped. Buffy put her pile of books down on the table, and walked over to Riley, taking the Talisman from him. "I think we should take it back to its rightful owner."

Everyone looked at Buffy and smiled as she said this. Buffy never spared one moment for selfishness. She took the Talisman, and made her way outside. Everyone she came across in town was talking about what had just happened, completely confused.

Buffy approached Victoria Park, now no longer blocked off. She searched all over the park until she came to a deserted corner in the forest. There, a beam of sunshine shone through the trees, forming a sunny patch on the green grass. In that sunny patch lie Mac, completely peaceful.

Buffy crouched down next to his body, stroked his forehead once, and then grabbed his cold hands. She grieved for just a few minutes, before she took the Talisman from her bag, and tucked it under his arm.

She got up, looked at her friend one last time, and disappeared off into the distance, ready to face whatever fiend would cause trouble next.


End file.
